John f



(No Model.)

' J. F. SMITH. A

UNDERGROUND BLEGTRIG RAILWAY.

Patented Apr. 30, 1895.

' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.,

JOHN F. SMITH, AOF NEW YORK, N. Y. L

UNDERGROUND ELECTRIC RAILWAY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent ivo. 538,357, dated April so, 1895.

Application filed August 15,71 8911.v Serial No.520i373' @T0 lllOfleL) To all whom. t may concern:

Be it known that l, JOHN F. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city,

velectric-railway and the objects of the same are to provide a substantial and durable structure or conduit, for carrying the conducting-wires of the road as well as to provide lmeans for carrying underground cables for telegraphic, telephonie, for carrying current to distant sections ot' the road, and the like purposes.

A further object of my invention is to provide an effective medium for taking the current from the conducting wires and transmitting it to the motor on the car.

My invention consists of a conduitv which comprises a suitable number of H-shaped sections arranged end to end, the trough formed by the upper part of the H-shaped sections containing the' conducting-wires, which are triangular in cross-section, and the lower part of the H-shaped sections providing a water-way for the purpose of conduct-f ing drainage water from the upper part of the conduitinto the sewers, the webs of the sec# tions being separated a suitable distance apart to provide spaces to permit the water to fall into the water-way. Placed on the upper edges of the side-walls of the H-shaped sections and extending longitudinally of the track, are a pair of slot-rails which are spaced at the proper distance apart so as to furnish the slot, and which are each provided witha pair of parallel flanges, into vthe spaces between which the upper edges of the side-walls are inserted and held either by friction or by anyother suitable means.

The invention also consists of a carriage suspended from the car-body in such a manner as not to partake ofthe oscillations of the same, which runs upon the slot-rails and which carries the brushes which take the current from the conducting-wires, said brushes being supported in the trough at the upper part of the H-shaped sections by means of Shanks which extend through the slot and are in turn supported from the-carriage. The carriage is provided with wheels and the upper part of the same just above the slot is provided at both ends with deectors which diverge from both sides of the slot and are adapted to remove small obstructions which are inthe way'of the carriage, said carriage being further provided belowl the slot with guards that extend longitudinally of the same at both sides of the slot, and which prevent accidental removal of the parts supported by the carriage from the conduit.

My invention also consists of the construction and combination of parts and details as will be f ullydescribed hereinafter and nally pointed out in the claims. l

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a cross-section of the conduit and the carriage on line l l of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the conduit, carriage being shownin side elevation. Fig. 3 isa plan view of the carriage and a portion of the conduit; and Figa is a detail view showing the joint of two adjacent sections of conducting-wire.

Similar letters ofreference indicate corresponding parts.

the upper part of the H-shaped sections into the water-way A below the webs ct. This water-way A leads to the sewer or any other outlet for the water in the conduit. The slotrails B, B', consist of fiat plates which are spaced a suitable distance apart so as to provide the slot b, said plates each having ontheir under sides a pair of parallel Ilanges b', h2, the spaces between which flanges receive the upper edges of the side-Walls a', d', of the H- vshaped sections A, which are held thereto by IOO tions A, so that the respective joints do not` come opposite each other.

In case it is desired to furnish means for running under-ground electric cables in the l conduit, which may be used for taking current to remote or distant sections of the road or as main feed-cables, the `conduit is provided with an exterior shell composed of U- shaped sections D, which are made wide enough to provide side-spaces D between the side-plates d, d of the U-shaped sections for the passage of the cables, such as D2. Resting upon the upper edges of the sideplates d, d', of the U-shaped sections, are angleirons E, E', in the inner angles of which the edges of the sideplates en ter, while the backs of the angle-irons abut against the outer flanges b', b', of the slot irons B, B', so that the spaces at these points are closed. The angle-irons E, E', may, if desired, be secured to the side-plates of the U-shaped sectionsD by means of suitable removable fastenings, not shown, so that said angle-irons may be taken up and access to thecables can he had.

The conducting-wires f,f', which are arranged in the trough in the upperpart of the H-shaped sections A, A, are supported on the webs d of said sections, so as to be insulated therefrom by means of gia'ss strips f2, which abut end to'end. These conducting-Wires are substantially triangular in cross-section, the angles being preferably flattened as shown. The object of this form of wire is to cause water, dirt, the., to be thrown off of the wires by reason of the inclined sides thereof, so that no obstruction is possible thereon and so that the conductingqualities thereof cannot beinterfered with.

As shown in Fig. 4f, the sections of which the conducting-wires are made up are connected by means of a dowel-pin f3 which fits tightly into the longitudinal sockets f4 in the ends of the abutting sections, said sockets being of such length that by means of a suitable tool which may be projected through side slots f5 the mechanical connection may be established or broken on pushing the pin in the `proper direction. v

One of the conducting wires is a positive and the other a negative, so that the positive wire supplies the current to the motor on the car while the negative wire takes the current back to the power house, `and thereby a complete circuit is formed.

Running upon the slot irons B, B', is a carriage Gr which is suspended from the car-body as indicated by dotted linesin Fig. 2, by means of outwardly extending chains or other oonnections h, which are rmly attached to the car-body and are connected with the framework of the carriage, so as to prevent relative longitudinal movement of the latter.

The l frame-work of the carriage comprises longitudinal metallic bars g, g', between which are secured by means of fastenings g2 which pass through said bars, upwardly-extending plates I, I', at the upper edges of which are lugs ft' which are provided with suitable openings t', in which the suspending chains 7i are inserted.

The pair of axles 7o extends transversely through the frame-work and are provided at their outer ends with wheels 7c', k', which run upon the upper surfaces `of the slot-rails B, B', when the car is moving. Suspended by means of their shanks between the said bars g, g', and secured thereto by suitable fastenings g2, is a pair of L-shaped copper or other suitable conducting strips J, the feet j of which are turned in oppositedirections within the trough T of the conduit and support `in contact with the respective conducting wires f, f',the copper brushes L, L,the lower ends of which are cut to conform with the contour of the conductingwires,:so that the brushes will always bein `proper contact with :the conductingwiresfor taking current. Theshanks of the conducting-strips I are insulated from the metal work of the carriage by means of mica or othersuitable insulation m, while-the :upper ends thereof are connected, "by the wires J', J', with the motor carried "by `the car, (not shown.) For the purpose of clearing the slot, the ends of the bars g, g', are `each provided with a defiector g3, andthesedeectors are so arranged that they diverge from 'the slot,so that any obstructions in the way will be deected to one side as the `same are struck by the carriage.

Secured to,` the plates I, 1I', which also extend through the slot of `the conduit together with the conductingstrips J, are a pair of guards M, M', which are arranged on both sides of said plates below the slot audunderneath the slotrails, so that should the car fbe derailed, the carriage G will be `prevented from being displaced by means of said guards.

The advantages of my invention are, irst, the construction of the elementary parts of the conduit is so simple and practicallyindestructible, thatthe same `can be built by common laborers, as no fastenings are required for the reasonthat all theparts tit snuglyand tightly together, and also theconduit islthereby enabled to bear the weight of the heaviest4 trucks without injury; second,all water and snow fall into the water-Way A and areconducted away, anyaccumulated dirt'being readily removed by flushing, and, third, the carriage of the contacts is comparatively isolated from the car, and may be readily detached therefrom, so that the car may be run on an ordinary track without removing the parts carried by said carriage from the conduit.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by `Letters Patentl. The herein-described conduit, consisting of H-sha'ped sections arranged end to end,

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and slot-rails provided with parallel-'anges which receive between them the upper edges of said sections, substantially as set forth.

2. The herein-described conduit, consisting of H-shaped sections arranged end to end, the webs of which end short of the joints so as to provide outlet-spaces, supporting-plates also arranged end to end and provided with parallel side iflanges, between which the lower edges of said sections are received, and slot-rails applied to the upper edges of said sections, substautially as set forth.

3. The herein-described conduit, consisting of U-shaped outer sections, H-shaped sections arranged in the same between and separated from the side-plates thereof, slot-rails applied to the upper edges of the H-shaped sections, andy angle-irons applied to the upper edges of the U-shaped sections and 4abutting against the slot-rails, substantially as set forth.

4. A carriage for the contact-brushes of an underground electric railway, the same consisting of a frame provided with wheels, guards at the bottom of said frame adapted to extend under the slot-rails, and chains attached to each` end of the frame, and adapted to be secured to the car, substantially as set forth.

5. A carriage for the contact-brushes of an' underground electric-railway, the same consisting of a frame provided with wheels, and comprising longitudinal bars, having angular deiiectors at the ends, and plates fastened between said bars and having upwardly-extending portions provided with means for attaching the carriage to a car, substantially as set set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as myinvention I have signed my name in pres- 4o ence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOHN F. SMITH.

Witnesses:

GEo. S. WHEELooK, K. R. BRENNAN. 

